Jurisdictional REDD+ as a Pathway to Low Emissions Development in Fragile, Conflict, and Violence-Affected States​

Shaadee Ahmadnia, Conservation International (United States)

This presentation will cover how Jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+) can serve as a pathway for driving conflict-sensitive climate finance and action, as well as environmental peacebuilding in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. REDD+ is a climate mitigation framework developed to incentivize “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation” in tropical developing countries. Over half of all countries engaged in REDD+ are impacted by conflict and fragility. Although the development finance landscape has experienced drastic limitations, demand for carbon credits by sovereigns and the private sector is still growing. Effectively designed and implemented, JREDD+ at the landscape level can support strengthened governance, social cohesion, empowerment of local and Indigenous communities, and natural resource management. At the same time, it is vital to integrate a conflict-sensitive lens into JREDD+ as the carbon market increasingly shifts in favor of these types of credits. While project-based REDD+ has had a history of mixed outcomes, there is an opportunity to reimagine this mechanism as JREDD+ at the landscape level captures global attention and financial flows. By engaging in discussions around this evolving mechanism, this pivotal moment can be seized by the environmental peacebuilding community to advance climate goals while building community resilience in vulnerable settings.